The Book..

"Now it is time
To open your presents.

Gift of tin and glass,
Wear out in a day
And are gone
But I have a better gift for you.

It is a ring for you to wear
It sparkles with a special light and
Cannot be taken away by anyone;
It cannot be destroyed.

You are the only one in the world
Who can see the ring that I give you today .
As I was the only one who could
See it when it was mine .

Your ring gives you a new power.
Wearing it you can lift yourself
Into the wings of all birds that fly .
You can see through their golden eyes,
You can touch the wind that sweeps ,
Through their velvet feathers.

You can know the joy of going up ,
High above the world and all its cares .

You can stay as long as you want
In the sky,
Past the night,
Through sunrise,
And when you feel like
Coming down again,
Your questions will have answers and
Your worries will have gone.

As anything that cannot be
Touched with the hand
Or seen with the eye,
Your gifts grow more
Powerful as you use it.

At first,
You might use it only when you are outdoors ,
Watching the birds with whom you fly.
But later on, if you use it well
It will work with the birds,
You cannot see.

And last of all you will find
That you’ll need,
Neither ring nor bird
To fly alone above
The quiet of the clouds.

And when that day comes,
You must give your gift
To someone you know who will
Use it well,
Who can learn that,
The only things that matter are made
Of truth and joy, and not tin and glass.

Every gift from a friend
Is a wish for your happiness
And so it is with this ring.

Fly free and happy beyond
Birthdays and across forever,
And we’ll meet now and then
When we wish,
In the midst of one celebration that can never end."


And so I finished reading the last lines..Of The book 'There is no such place as far away..' By Richard Bach..

5 yr old Rae invites Bach for her birthday party.. Bach is miles and miles away from her.. The book is about his journey across the deserts... mountains and oceans..

I got the lovely book from the library. It looks like a fairy tale picture book written on pages with lovely watercolor paintings by H.Lee. Shapiroo. There are only one or two lines in each page..
I have typed the line in each page as a stanza.. it is not a poem..


I finished reading it in about 5 mts and then spent the whole day reading it again and again and gazing at the paintings,,,

I had fallen in love with the magic Bach creates in me.. Again…

I wanted the book for myself..

I wondered if I should cheat.. Report loss.. Pay the full amount and keep the book for myself..
I have done it once.. For an old tiny book of classical poems.. With an exquisite picture for each poem.

I simply couldn’t bear to part with it..


After dinner I called Peeps and Gautam to sit besides me.. I wanted Gautam to read the book.. Aloud.
“Oh! No! I want to watch ‘American idol’ … He looked alarmed..

“Plz baby..” I begged..

“OMG!! philosophy..!!” He exclaimed.. turning the pages.. “It will be boring mama.”.

“Plz..” I begged again.
"You will like it..”

“Read it . It will hardly take hardly five minutes”. Peeps said..

He knows what a stubborn beggar I can be..

:))

"plz.. plz.. "I begged again. I wanted them both to enjoy the book..

Gautam started to read.. Fast...

His feet tapped impatiently.. He wanted to get over with it..

I watched my son read the lovely book. He was slowly getting absorbed in the words..

He glanced at the paintings in between. His body started to relax. The words slipped out soft and sweet..

He was surrendering to the magic.. He too was falling in love..

And so was my hubby..!

I decided to not cheat this time.. I would try to buy the book from somewhere…